Seems like the forecast of how you may look to eventually cut the cord is a necessary piece of the puzzle. I would research how that works and how it would work for your family before deciding to upgrade.

You have been without the use of a OTA unit for a while, considering you have an Elite, so I would guess that the OTA possibility is minimal in the short run and that you would especially appreciate the speed of the Roamio. My understanding is that it is even faster than the mini...

Buy the basic Roamio (I bought two) because this will embolden you to cast off Comcast and save big $$. The Netflix experience is good, the DVR performance without CableCARD or TA is virtually perfect, and 4 tuners OTA actually does work out very well.

If you might have both Minis online at the same time maybe buy two Roamio?

Buy the basic Roamio (I bought two) because this will embolden you to cast off Comcast and save big $$. The Netflix experience is good, the DVR performance without CableCARD or TA is virtually perfect, and 4 tuners OTA actually does work out very well.

If you might have both Minis online at the same time maybe buy two Roamio?

It's verra nice.

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I second Steve.. start with one ota roamio basic with your 3tb drop in.. if you find you need more tuners get a second roamio basic with stock memory just to drive the minis. It will still be cheaper in the longrun than cable and/or pro given that you already have the 3tb sitting around.

You have been without the use of a OTA unit for a while, considering you have an Elite, so I would guess that the OTA possibility is minimal in the short run and that you would especially appreciate the speed of the Roamio. My understanding is that it is even faster than the mini...

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You are confusing between the Premiere 4XL/Elite (4 tuner) vs. the Premiere XL (2 tuner) which he has noted in his post.

Redbeard25, if you were to choose either the Roamio Plus, or Pro, you would not be able to use OTA, because they are digital cable only, with 6 tuners. Only the 4 tuner Roamio will work with OTA.

No one said anything about TiVo monthly subscription. That is a money loosing proposition long term. Just figure the lifetime sub as part of the initial investment and move on. Its been discussed at length. If you are going to use TiVo long term, monthly is not cost effective. Break even for most tivos is only about 1 year.

No one said anything about TiVo monthly subscription. That is a money loosing proposition long term. Just figure the lifetime sub as part of the initial investment and move on. Its been discussed at length. If you are going to use TiVo long term, monthly is not cost effective. Break even for most tivos is only about 1 year.

Actually, break even is about 2 1/2 years ($399 lifetime divided by $12.99/month= just over 30 months. )Still worth it though.

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Even this math is flawed. It doesn't account for the huge boost in resale value for the lifetime Tivo when you next upgrade. You can recoup almost ALL of the cost of the lifetime service when you sell the old Tivo.

I see you have a stream so that's another reason you don't need the more expensive Romeos.
however one drawback of basic Romeo is no component video. even the break away cable is for composite video only, so if you mirror multiple tvs you'll have to do it with HDMI splitter/switches.
I like my basic Romeo. its small form factor appeals to me. it fits better on my desk. the internal was loud for me so I permanently removed the top lid and disabled the fan. even with no fan the tivo runs cooler since the top lid is off. With lid on it was always hot to the touch.

Really?! This would be great if true, but I think I read lifetime service is not transferable.

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its not. You sell the box and lifetime together. I sold 3 2 tuner tivo premieres with lifetime on ebay for around $1300 bucks. I bought Romaio plus (did a 3tb upgrade), lifetime + 2 minis with lifetime for around $1500 bucks

Actually, break even is about 2 1/2 years ($399 lifetime divided by $12.99/month= just over 30 months. )Still worth it though.

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Every time this comes up someone says this and it simply is not true. The break even point calculation has to include the residual value of the unit. Approx 250 more for the lifetime unit than a unit without. Net cost for the LT sub is only about 150. just over a year break even point assuming buying the hardware with sub new.